Fun with monster stories

Two funny monster stories were featured in this week’s storytime for kindergartners and Mrs. McCall’s class.  The first book was Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberly and the second was There Was an Old Monster(a variation on the folk song “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly”) by Rebecca and Adrian Emberley.   After the stories, the children used their leaf puppets to put on puppet shows.  They knelt behind the puppet theater in small groups as they acted out the familiar rhyme “Five Little Leaves.”  The children were thrilled with their performances!

First grade fun

The first graders enjoyed hearing the new book Boo to You!by author/illustrator Lois Ehlert during their weekly visit this week.  Besides participating in the retelling of The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams, the children worked in small groups to put on puppet shows.  Each student used one of his/her puppet to act out one of three rhymes:  “Squirrels,” “Five Little Jack-O-Lanterns,” or “Five Little Scarecrows.”  The performances were delightful!

Pumpkin seed contest

This week’s competition was an estimation contest.  Students guessed the number of pumpkin seeds in a large jar.  A small jar holding 100 seeds was provided as a clue.  There were a total of 915 pumpkin seeds in the jar.  Fifth grader Derek won the contest with his estimate of 927 seeds.  Congratulations, Derek!

Good library habit rewarded

Each K-2 classroom is rewarded for returning library books promptly.  It is our hope that students return their library books on time so that others can enjoy the books.  There is a slightly different incentive program for each grade.

 Kindergartners add a sticker to their class chart every time they return a book.  Each week the students count the number of stickers they have accumulated so far.  When the chart is full (100 stickers), the class earns a surprise.  So far the Pink, Yellow, Green, Red and Orange Rooms have filled their charts and earned their first prize (bookmarks and balloons).

 The first graders also work as a class to fill a chart.  Their chart holds 20 stickers.  The class can earn up to 5 stickers each week.  (They lose one sticker for every overdue book the class has.)  I.Q. Mouse, a character in a book read during their first visit to the library in October, sends a letter and awards a prize to the first graders when their class chart is full.  This week all three first grade classrooms filled their first chart.  Great job, first graders!

Golden Shelf Elf Award

Second graders work to fill their chart with 20 stickers just as the first graders do.  Their correspondent, however, is Skoob the Shelf Elf.  Skoob is the main character in a book introduced during the class’ first library visit of the year.  When second graders fill a chart, they get to display the Golden Shelf Elf Award in their classroom as well as earning a small prize for each class member.  Miss Kimball’s class recently earned the first Golden Shelf Elf Award of the year.

Scarecrow fun

Mrs. McCall’s class enjoyed the story The Scarecrow’s Hat by Ken Brown during their recent visit to the library.  The children also enjoyed the rhymes “Five Little Scarecrows” and “Scarecrow, Scarecrow.”  They made paper scarecrows after selecting new library books to borrow.